


Under the Weather

by obsidiangrey



Series: States 'Verse [4]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Family Dynamics, Family Fluff, Gen, even if they spend a lot of the time arguing, these guys look out for each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-24
Updated: 2016-01-24
Packaged: 2018-05-15 23:15:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5804116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/obsidiangrey/pseuds/obsidiangrey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The capital doesn't know how to deal with snow. Thankfully, the personifications of New England are always available for advice.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Under the Weather

“ _I am not built for this weather.”_

It was late January, which generally meant that the family house in Vermont would be covered in snow. Such was not the case at the moment. They had seen remarkably little snow this year (which Vermont himself was grateful for; last winter was bad enough, and he didn't want a repeat)- at least, not this far north. Much further to the south, however, where there was _supposed_ to be little to no snow in late January, there was a decidedly _large_ blizzard.

New England had gathered around one of the fireplaces. There was a phone put on speaker and set on one of the tables. The voice of Washington District sounded tinny through the small speakers, but her thoughts on the current storm and her predicament came across clear in her tone all the same.

“Are you inside?” Maine asked.

“ _Yes.”_

“Do you still have power?” New Hampshire followed his sister's question with one of his own.

“ _Yes.”_

“Hot chocolate?” Massachusetts took a very large gulp from his mug. Winter was far from his favorite season, though he staved off the chill with hot drinks and blankets and frequent trips to the store for bread and milk.

“ _Coffee,”_ she replied flatly. _“I still have paperwork to do.”_

“You _would_ be working in a snowstorm,” Connecticut sighed.

The Bay State frowned at the phone. Rhode Island rolled his eyes and leaned forward so he could be better heard: “The government isn't going anywhere, Abby. Take a break!”

“Yeah, this one's looking like a bad one. You ought to be resting,” Maine agreed.

“ _What else are you expecting me to do while I'm confined to my house for the rest of the foreseeable future?”_

“Sleep?” Rhode Island shrugged. “Like a normal person?”

Connecticut, being closest, punched his arm. “Says the one who rode horseback through the night, in winter, _without shoes_ , just to bring messages to General Washington.”

“ _That_ was entirely different- the fate of the country at stake-!”

“...and we've lost them.” Maine glanced over at the bickering pair, then turned her attention back to the phone. “Look, I know it's tough. You know a bunch of state governments have already said they'll send aid down if asked, I'm pretty sure that includes you.”

“Yeah!” Massachusetts nodded. “And Pa can bring you up here if you get snowed in.”

“ _I'm not worried about **myself** ,” _the capital said tersely. _“I'm personally not built for this, yes, but I meant that the **city** isn't built for it. Or most of the other states around. There have already been accident reports. Car crashes. I'm-”_

She trailed off in a frustrated sigh, but the States understood. It was difficult enough when a regular storm covered their entire state; it was bad for their people, and that was always a lingering concern in the backs of their minds, but weather like this? Winter as a whole left them feeling perpetually chilled and wearing a couple extra layers. Snowstorms put a chill in their bones that never seemed to leave. And the nation's capital just wasn't equipped to handle the amount of snow it was getting, both the location and the personification herself.

New Hampshire took an air horn out of his pocket and held it up behind Rhode Island and Connecticut's heads, the both of them still snarking back and forth. The resulting noise caused both of them (and Vermont) to cry out in surprise, Massachusetts to nearly choke on his drink, and Maine to jump in alarm, letting out an impressive slew of curse words before she had fully realized what had happened.

“ _...I'm going to assume that was New Hampshire,”_ Washington District said into the ensuing silence.

“Yes,” Maine said at the same time as Rhode Island's “why do you even _have_ that.” Vermont waved off a few of their concerned siblings who had heard the noise and come hurrying into the room.

“Listen, they'll be fine,” Massachusetts said. “The people will be fine- you know how stubborn they all are.”

“ _...I suppose.”_ A pause. _“I do attend all the congressional meetings.”_

Vermont was startled into a laugh. “Was that a _joke_ , Abigail? I'm hearing things, I gotta be.”

“ _No, I'm being entirely serious.”_ Her voice never changed from its typical bland tone, a result of near-constant involvement in government and arbitrating disagreements between her family members as a neutral party, which made her words all the more amusing.

Connecticut grinned. “Really though, just stay indoors, make sure you know where all your flashlights and batteries are, and wait it out.”

“Keep the news channels on!” Rhode Island added. “You'll get updates and advice on what to do with the snow.”

“Let us know if we need to send down a roof rake to get the snow off your roof. Don't want any ice dams building up.”

“ _You have roof rakes?”_

Maine's phone buzzed. She looked down to find a text from Alaska- there were a lot of emojis of huskies and smiley faces. She was surprised her youngest sister even got cell signal where she lived, far out from the major cities, almost entirely isolated.

“Um- Alaska sends her love and to say, don't worry, 'cause this is just winter's way of- showing that he cares about us?”

There was a brief silence. New Hampshire slowly tilted his head to one side.

Massachusetts took another large gulp of hot chocolate. “Does she mean that literally?” he finally asked.

“Well, _winter_ is spelled with a capital 'W,' but there are a couple spelling errors, so I'm not sure. Probably?”

“ _That's not reassuring... I'd prefer Winter keep to the north. You can have him.”_

“No, I'm happy to share,” Massachusetts said quickly.

“ _I'm the federal government, and your argument is invalid,”_ came the immediate reply. The siblings laughed, and Massachusetts rolled his eyes- _“I just got an email from the boss, so I guess I'll be calling you back later.”_

“Okay.” Connecticut waved, even though the capital couldn't see her. “Keep in touch, let us know what's going on!”

“And call if you need anything,” New Hampshire told her.

“ _Okay. Goodbye, everyone.”_

“Bye, Abby!”

Massachusetts took his phone off the table, ended the call, and promptly retreated into a small mound of blankets with his mug. Rhode Island flopped backward onto the couch, mostly using his brother as a pillow (much to the latter's annoyance); the remaining four, curled up in their arm chairs and watched the fire crackle in the hearth.

“Suppose we oughta call Elizabeth and the others and check on them,” Maine spoke up.

“Nah, Minnesota said she was going to get a couple others and do that,” Connecticut said. Maine took the information in stride and sank back down into the cushions of the chair, curling up into a ball and closing her eyes. “Supposed to blow over by tomorrow, anyway. It'll be fine.”

“Mm.” New Hampshire yawned. “Yeah, it'll be fine.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm marking this as complete, though I might make it into a series of various weather-related drabbles. As always, I hope everyone enjoyed.
> 
>  
> 
> Washington District – Abigail/Abby  
> Maine – Mason  
> New Hampshire – Jacob  
> Vermont – Gregory  
> Massachusetts – Patrick  
> Connecticut – Constance  
> Rhode Island – Robert  
> Virginia – Elizabeth


End file.
